Mozzarella

As Mirabeau bites the dust, Stella?s rises from the ashes. In that choice ocean-view spot in Monarch Bay Plaza, a new Italian restaurant and lounge makes its debut. All dressed up with new booths, golden draperies and two large portraits of someone who actually may be the eponymous Stella. They also have added a wood-burning pizza oven. The outdoor terrace has been refurbished with banquettes along the walls and a second bar. Still remaining are the open kitchen, the long bar with comfortable upholstered stools where you may eat as well as drink, and the large fireplace on the terrace.

For those of you who don?t keep track of these important milestones, January was National Pizza Month and Feb. 9 is International Pizza Day. So, put these on your calendar for next year before you forget again. Americans eat an average of 18 acres of pizza every day and spend about $32 billion a year indulging this pleasure. The average American consumes 23 pounds of pizza per year. Pepperoni and cheese is the most popular combination and pizza?s second only to the hamburger as this continent?

DINING OUT When Romeo Cucina debuted here more than 10 years ago, a new dimension in Italian dining was introduced to Laguna Beach. Commencing with trendy avant-garde decor carried out in warm earth tones, the handsome new restaurant offered a wide variety of pizzas from a huge brick-fired oven behind the capacious entry bar. Beyond the large dining room was cocktail bar, and at the rear, two appetizing deli cases...

Glori Fickling When it comes to alfresco dining, there is probably no more popular spot along the coast than Cafe Zinc & Market on Ocean Avenue adjacent to the bus depot Downtown. Founded in 1988 by enterprising localite John Secretan, the cozy retreat is a vegetarian delight and has been conceived with enough imagination and variety to please even non-vegetarian diners. Directly inside the 20-table patio, a service bar with five more tables poses a backdrop for the works of local artists.

DINING OUT A penchant for experimenting with the brewing of beer and ale triggered the idea conceived by Jonathan Thomas. The creative cooking skills of his innovative bride Maria, learned from her mother in their native Italy, clinched the concept. Thus, on Dec. 8, 1994 Ocean Brewing Company was launched by the resourceful couple. The quaint little Italian pub bearing huge brewing tanks behind the extensive bar became an instant success with inviting sidewalk tables beckoning guests to enter.

Laguna Beach elementary schools are treated to a healthy barbecue lunch — complete with an organic salad bar — twice a month. El Morro and Top of the World elementary schools' students and staff have the chance to dine on grass-fed beef hamburgers or a protein veggie burger on a whole-grain bun, according to a district release. "The [barbecues] are a big hit with both students and staff; the twice monthly [barbecues] add a bit of fun to the school day," district Nutrition Services Director Debra Appel said in a prepared statement.

This is another in our series of Laguna home chefs. This week we feature Rob Gage, photographer, world traveler, raconteur and party-giver extraordinaire. He would probably own up to all of these titles except chef, as he didn't even step into the kitchen until he was in his fifties. As a professional photographer of automobiles — in particular, cars and people together — he was on assignment 250 days a year. In 1993, he and his wife separated and she moved to their ranch in Feather River.

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ One of the many interesting customers we had at A La Carte was a very flamboyant and opinionated character who had been a waiter in almost every fine restaurant in town. Among his many areas of expertise were food and wine. He really knew his stuff and often came in with criticisms or praise for the local eating establishments. One afternoon, he came in raving about a delicious meal he had eaten in a very unlikely spot. The new Ocean Avenue Restaurant and Brewery, he said, had fabulous Italian food, cooked by the owner, a genuine Italian momma.

DINING OUT Enter the magnificent Montage Resort and Spa for the newly inaugurated Sunday champagne brunch buffet and you will be directed downstairs where a fantastically fabulous feast awaits. Downstairs you ask? The anomaly becomes clear after you scan the classically beautiful setting that awaits beyond a bountiful array of artistically laden buffets wafting fragrant aromas of freshly baked pastries. We are looking down to the splendiferous sight of a sun-splashed ocean framing verdant grounds, swaying palms, shimmering swimming pool and spa. The Loft, indeed a lofty site, is the definitive setting for the Sunday feast impeccably conceived by astute banquet director Tim Stutz and enterprising executive chef Jonathan Pflueger.

Ti Amo has been around for as long as we can remember, so they must be doing something right. In this era of sleek modern box-shaped bistros, all steel and glass, done in tones of beige and brown, it?s kind of nice to occasionally slip back in time to an old-fashioned Italian restaurant decorated like a Mediterranean villa from some Hollywood movie. In fact, it bears an eerie resemblance to the haunted house in Disneyland with dusty deep red drapery, dried flowers, dripping candelabras and pseudo-frescoed walls.